Good As New

March 15, 2016

Story By: Yu Shing Ting | Photos by: Nathalie Walker

Oyster Stone Pot Rice ($15.95 lunch, $18.95 dinner)

Get a taste of Korea at New Shilawon Korean Restaurant on Amana Street near Ala Moana Center and Don Quijote.

The casual, family-friendly restaurant was open for about 10 years as Shillawon Korean Restaurant before its chef Jae Keun Lee took over ownership in December 2014 and renamed it New Shilawon Korean Restaurant.

ADVERTISEMENT

Known for its all-you-caneat yakiniku and shabu shabu, the popular Korean eatery also offers an a la carte menu with more than 40 traditional Korean dishes to choose from. An additional lunch menu also is available from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Among the a la carte favorites is Stir-Fried Squid with Vegetables ($20.95) and udon noodles (add $5) found on the dinner menu, but also available for lunch. Made with a spicy gochujang sauce with red chili flakes (can be ordered mild), this authentic Korean dish consists of squid mixed with vegetables including zucchini, green onions, carrots, red bell peppers, round onion and jalapeno peppers.

It also comes with assorted ban chan (Korean side dishes) prepared fresh daily.

A HEARTWARMING DISH

This spring, New Shilawon Korean Restaurant is offering Oyster Stone Pot Rice ($15.95 lunch, $18.95 dinner) for a limited time. The traditional Korean dish, which is especially popular during winter and spring seasons, features a nutritious mix of red rice and beans topped with steamed oysters, daikon and enoki mushrooms, and served in a stone pot that keeps the food warm and the bottom layer of the rice crispy.

It also comes with a Korean marinade that can be added to the rice, soup (miso soup, soft tofu stew or kimchee stew), and five to six ban chan, or side dishes, such as kimchee, soy beans, radish kimchee, seasoned nori, broccoli and fish cake.

“While the rice is cooking in the pot, it absorbs the juices from the oysters so it’s really good,” notes general manager Jandy Lee. “This is one of my mom’s favorite foods. It’s her heartwarming food and reminds her of home.”